EP266
A Claim to Flame!
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First broadcast
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English themes
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Japanese themes
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Credits
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A Claim to Flame! (Japanese: シロガネリーグかいまく！シゲルふたたび！ Silver League Opening! Shigeru Again!) is the 266th episode of the Pokémon anime. It was first broadcast in Japan on September 19, 2002 and in the United States on September 17, 2003.
Ash has finally arrived in Silver Town but he hasn't qualified for the Silver Conference yet. Between paperwork, a tough qualifying battle against a Furret, Team Rocket's latest attempt to capture Pikachu and more delays for the Ho-Oh flame, Ash has a lot to overcome.
Synopsis
The episode begins as Ash finishes his paperwork to formally enter the Silver Conference, Gary arrives and greets the pair, himself also finishing up on the paperwork. After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Ash and company decide to look around town for a while. The whole place is celebrating the tournament thats about to come. While looking around, Ash notices Mr. Goodshow handing out balloons to kids. As president of the Pokémon League, he explains, he intends to greet all the fans, and the best way to do that is through handing out balloons.
Meanwhile, at a nearby restaurant, Team Rocket are having trouble serving dishes to hungry diners. Though James keeps his cool in serving dishes and Meowth is keeping his in cooking them, Jessie snaps when a young girl addresses her as "old" and demands where her hamburger meal is. Believing that "the customer is no longer right", Jessie promptly eats all the food about to be served, causing the trio to be fired.
At the Silver Conference Athlete's Village Pokémon Center, just as the group is getting accustomed to their room (a luxury suite complete with a view of a lake and a computer for analyzing other trainers), Ash and company head off for the screening rounds, designed to trim the field of 200 trainers down to 48. Brock explains that the screening rounds are a series of one-on-one battles, with match-ups entirely computer-determined, with no trainer having to battle more than three times. Ash, though, is confident he can pass the screening round. Against his first opponent, Salvatore from Cherrygrove City, Ash is disadvantaged when he is told to make the first move. Ash choose Pikachu, while Salvatore chooses Furret. Though Ash is off to a bad start due to wanting to play a speed game (Furret's Double Team matching Pikachu's Quick Attacks), which ends up with Pikachu taking repeated Digs and Headbutts, Ash gains the upper hand when Pikachu latches onto Furret and Furret tries to get into the dug holes in order to shake Pikachu off. This allows Pikachu to Thunderbolt a trapped Furret, and a final Quick Attack seals the match for Ash. Ash has no further troubles in the screening process, as Phanpy and Cyndaquil help Ash make it through with three wins.
Back in the Pokémon Center, Ash discovers that Gary and Harrison have also passed the screening round. Though Ash is confident that he can beat 47 other trainers to the championship, Mr. Goodshow shows up and tells them all that it wouldn't be as easy, as the 48 trainers are grouped into groups of three in the semifinal round, where only one trainer from each group will advance to the Victory Tournament. Ash, nevertheless, is fired up.
That night, Ash couldn't get any sleep. He gets out of bed, accidentally waking Pikachu up. They both go out for a walk, Ash talking to Pikachu about this whole thing. But down some ways, they see Gary. Gary notices them and both of them have a talk. The full moon out that night reminded Gary of his first night as a Pokémon Trainer - the same day that Ash was late in getting up and got Pikachu as his first Pokémon. Gary wonders what could have been - if Ash had been on time, if he himself had not seen the full moon... but all the contemplation is for the future - the present is all about the rivalry, and Ash and Gary make it clear to each other that they will defeat anyone who gets in their way to the top - each other included.
The next day, the Opening Ceremonies begin. Silver Stadium, the Pokémon Stadium for the Silver Conference, is filled to capacity, awaiting the arrival of the finalists, and even Professor Oak, Tracey, Professor Elm, and Delia watching from home. As the semifinalist trainers are corralled off awaiting their entrance cue, a pair of officials approach Ash, at the back of the line, asking Ash whether he has "Silver Pokémon Footprint Panel", and that Ash could be disqualified if he did not. Realizing this, and that he could get a last minute registration, Ash leaves the line, which makes Gary further up the line curious.
Ash, however, finds himself tied up, as the two officials reveal themselves to be Team Rocket, who have also made off with Pikachu. As the athletes enter, Brock and Misty, in the stands, notice that Ash isn't there. Professor Oak and Tracey, at the Oak Lab, also notice that Gary is curiously absent. At the same time, Ash, attempting to break a locked door down, is freed by Gary. After telling that Pikachu had been kidnapped yet again, the rivals give chase to Team Rocket, but Team Rocket eventually collides with a torch runner as he enters Silver Stadium. This causes Team Rocket to drop Pikachu (which Ash recovers) as well as causing the torch runner to drop the torch (which Gary catches out of midair). Team Rocket's attempt to flee the scene is stopped by Pikachu's Thunderbolt, which sends them flying.
Though Ash has recovered Pikachu and the torch is still in one piece, the runner had twisted his ankle after Team Rocket had collided with him. Not knowing what to do, as the Silver Conference will not start without the torch, Gary tells Ash to make the final leg of the torch relay while he himself takes care of the runner.
Now everyone in the stadium is worried, since the expected time for the runner to show up has passed. Just when things look bleak, Ash makes it to the arena and runs up to the stairs to light up the big torch. As Mr. Goodshow gives a final speech to kick off the Silver Conference, it looks like the tournament is just beginning...
Major events
- Ash, Gary and Harrison qualify for the Silver Conference.
- Ash and Gary help to deliver the Ho-Oh flame to allow the conference to begin.
Debuts
Characters
Humans
- Ash
- Misty
- Brock
- Jessie
- James
- Gary
- Harrison
- Mr. Goodshow
- Professor Oak
- Tracey
- Delia
- Professor Elm
- Salvador
Pokémon
Trivia
- Harrison does not have a speaking role in this episode.
- Battles:
- Ash vs. Salvador: Ash wins
- After Team Rocket having kidnapped Ash and stolen his Pikachu, there is a brief appearance of some of the participants in the Johto League Conference, and, among them, there is a boy that looks like Goku from Dragonball, having the same hairstyle and clothes's color.
Errors
- In the English dub Misty says that Furret is a Ground Pokémon. It is actually a Normal Pokémon, however, it is in the Ground egg group.
- The Teddiursa teddy bear being held by the little girl in the resturant doesn't have a moon on its forehead while in the girls arms but when it is on her head after getting her food it does.
Dub edits
In other languages
- European Portuguese: Atrás da Chama!
- French: La cérémonie d'ouverture
- Italian: Le prime gare
- Latin American Spanish: ¡El portador de la llama!
- Spanish: Esperando la antorcha
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This episode article is part of Project Anime, a Bulbapedia project that covers all aspects of Pokémon animation. |